This page will give a completely detailed profile of the selected
fish, from A to Z. The profiled fish will be chosen randomly by Badman,
and will come from the complete genre of tropical fish. New profiles
are added on a regular basis. If you would like to submit a profile
for the site please contact me. Don't forget to let us know you experiences
with this fish by filling out the

Guatemala and the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. It is also said to be
found in underground waterways.

General Body Form:
Tall with strong lateral compression. It has a large head and its' forehead
is slightly curved around the eyes. The dorsal fin starts at the gill
covers. In older fish the tail (caudal) fin is bent slightly in and
the outer rays can get very long. In the male the Dorsal and Anal fins
are longer and more pointed.

Coloration:
The most noticeable trait of the Firemouth is its throat and breast
area, which ranges from bright fiery Red to Brick Red and is the reason
for the common name. With a closer look you can see a wide range of
colors in the fish. The basic background color is bluish Gray, with
a slight purple sheen. The under area is Yellow Green to Orange. The
sides have a series of faint dark bars. A Golden edged blackspot is
right behind the eyes a similar one is found at the start of the tail
fin. Other Black marks with Golden edges can be seen on the lower edge
of the gill cover and at the start of the clear Pectoral fins. The Dorsal
fin is edged in Red and the rays of the other fins are slightly Brown
with the membranes speckled with Bright Blue - Green spots. All the
scales seem to edged with Red. Females are not as colorful as the males.
An all around beautiful fish!

Maintenance:
Ideally the Firemouth tank should be at least a fifty-five gallon, with
rocks, driftwood and many plants. Provide an open area for swimming
and displaying. They are territorial but will rarely bother other fish
unless they are in the spawning ritual. Their main way of defense is
to inflate the throat area, which highlights and deepens the beautiful
Red color. Feeding is no problem as they will accept flake, frozen and
medium sized live food. Good filtration and water changes must be provided.
They are peaceful for a Cichlid and should be kept with similar tankmates.
In a large tank several pairs can be kept. In short they are a relatively
peaceful and easily kept fish.

Biotope:
Shallow shore areas of rivers with driftwood or rocks. The water can
be clear murky or non moving.

Breeding:

Open water breeders, the pair will clean a rock or similar object
and the female will deposit up to 500 eggs. Both parents will tend
the fry as they are moved from pit to pit in the aquarium. The female
is more likely to tend the brood and the male defend the territory.
The fry can be fed very fine flake food or newly hatched brine shrimp.
Growth is fairly fast. A healthy pair can have up to five broods a
year.

Please remember that
the following comments are personal experiences and may or may
not apply to your setup. Use them as guide to help better understand
your fish, like us all individuals will behave differently under
different circumstances.

From: Rick.LDate: 7/29/2013I have a young
pair of fire mouth they show no red as yet but hopefully soon.
They are about 7cm long get along great together and don't mind
sharing their 3ft by 36cm paradise with 2 bristlenose,1 red rainbow,1
red tail shark,1_ 5cm lombardoi and 1_ 5cm cobalt zebra. I bought
them all at the same time from my local supplier and introduced
them to logs ,pots and various plants and I traveled to a freshwater
stream to retrieve nutrient enriched rock ,gravel and sand for
them and it was very worth it for them as they are very healthy
looking and it also looks great too
From: Sam Date: 6/25/2011My two firemouths
have given my 50gal community tank of dwarf cichlids lots of trouble.
They are very territorial and need to own their space. Mine did
very well in a 40gal with a large lace gourami and tiger barbs.
They mostly hassled each other which is very entertaining and
they appeared to thrive on it. After placing them back into my
50gal, during a reshuffle, they caused absolute havoc for 10 minutes
until my 2 Festivum pummeled them very badly. They have since,
mostly, left the other fish alone but the dominant Firemouth is
now overly aggressive towards the other Firemouth who is not doing
very well and they will have to be moved. A great fish that has
taught me a lot about social and territorial behaviour but definitely
difficult to get working in a peaceful community tank.
From: BlackList Tattoo Date: 7/3/2010I have 11 aquariums
in my home, mostly 55 gallons. I have a dwarf cichlid community
going on with chanchitos, pink convict, jewels, hondouran red
points etc. I tried to keep my 2 firemouths with them and they
always harassed the other fish and kept them all hidden. I finally
set up a 29 gallon for the 2 firemouths and they live alone happily.
I could never find a combo of fish that they were compatible with.
They do wonderful on their own. Not shy or aggressive to each
other. Actually, they just had their first batch of babies. They
are about 5 weeks old now and I have hundreds.
From: AMilner Date: 1/18/2009They get a bit
of a 'misunderstood' reputation in my opinion. Having kept these
for nearly 5 years I have to say that they are truly gorgeous,
the subtle coloration of the fins is amazing. Temperament has
never been an issue for me, even when I first had them in a general
community. I find they only show any sign of 'aggression' (and
this is purely gill flaring rather than serious damage) is when
they spawn.
From: Wolfgang Date: 6/21/2006Firemouths like
most Cichlids range from peaceful to aggressive. Generally they
are mid - lower strata swimmers who once acclimated to their environment
will roam free and will not hide very often, especially if kept
with other firemouths. I had some several years ago that worked
absolutely fantastic with a tiger oscar and some indigenous Green
Sunfish(sometimes known as Rock Bass)I caught at a local pond.
From: Ali Date: 1/21/2006I have two firemouths and they are just
amazing!! I have got them in a tank with Two Festivums, Two Rams
and Two Keyhole Cichlids. I was worried about putting the Firemouths
into the tank because the two Keyhole Cichlids were quite small
and really you have to put the Firemouths in a tank with fish
around about the same size as them. I was very surprised the Firemouths
were so good, they didn't even bother any of the fish, including
the Keyholes. I feed the Firemouths on different foods i.e Bloodworm,
Normal Flake, Tubifex and Brine Shrimp. I find giving them a varied
diet a lot better, they seem a lot happier and show lots of colour.
So many people feed their fish on the same food all the time and
I just don't recommend it, fish like a bit of variation. I also
find that I have to make sure the water condition in the tank
is right all the time, because I find that the Firemouths are
quite sensitive to bad water conditions. They seem to start losing
their colour slightly and become a bit docile. I think that as
long as you look after them properly they are a joy to watch!!!
From: mikser_mitosis Date: 10/21/2004firemouths are, behaviorally speaking,
definitely one of the more interesting South American cichlids
in the hobby. Their most fascinating aspects are best witnessed
by keeping at least two, better three pairs together in a species
tank with a few plecos or other small to medium sized non-predatory
catfish. As they are (though not by definition) sand sifters in
the wild, it is wise to keep them on a substrate of fine sand
in order for them to carry out their natural habits. In my experience
pairs will spawn in close proximity to one another and almost
in a breeding colony-type arrangement, sometimes caring (though
one assumes unknowingly) caring for one anothers fry at the early
stages. A beautiful, relatively peaceful fish with fascinating
habits and nature. Years of fun!
From: ChrisDate: 11/12/2001I've kept a few of these fish with my
2 severums and they get along fine. Can be very quarrelsome with
their own kind but lovely fish to look at and easy to feed. Best
kept in more harder alkaline water which also promotes growth
rate.
From: JohnDate: 03/02/2002I had to move my Firemouth, killed my
Green Texas cichlid. Moved him into a 125 gal that has African
cichlids. Still alive and well.